God’s original and ultimate will

GOD’S original will for us has not changed at all despite

the mess we created. That original will continues to be his ultimate

will for us. And that is that we truly become his image and likeness,

meant to share in his life and nature in our definitive status which

we hope to obtain at the end of time in heaven.

            We have to be clear about this fundamental truth about us,

especially since it is about our primordial relation with our Creator.

Yes, in spite of the total unworthiness we all feel about this

God-given dignity of ours, that truth holds. We cannot do anything to

change or modify it. We just have to accept it and try our best to

comply with God’s will for us.

            We need to proclaim this truth more widely, because in

spite of the significant catechesis done since time immemorial, this

truth has not yet entered deep in the minds and hearts of many people.

Many are still ignorant of it or have not realized the full

implications of such truth.

            Of course, there are those who still need to be convinced

that there is God and that we come from him and not just from our

parents. They certainly require a major conversion. But even among

those who are supposed to be believers already, it cannot be denied

that many do not have a clear idea about God’s ultimate will for us

which should actually be their ultimate purpose in life also.

            That is why many are entangled in worldly and temporal

affairs, in varying degrees of success and failure, without realizing

that everything in their life is meant to lead them to achieve God’s

will for us.

            In other words, many still do not realize that our

creation is still a work in progress, and that we need to keep our

relation with God alive and vibrant if only to make sure that we are

heading in the right direction. Many still have a weak sense of

religion.

            Of course, this ultimate will of God for us is manifested

to us in different levels. We have the ten commandments which can be

described as the Old Law, a summary of the natural law that is

supposed to prepare and dispose us to the New Law that would convert

us into God’s image and likeness, children of his.

            Part of God’s will is expressed in the duties inherent in

our state of life and the different positions we occupy in life. These

duties that spring from some earthly authority like our parents, the

state, etc., also express God’s will since the authority that commands

them is always a participation in the authority of God. (cfr. Rom

13,1)

            God’s will is fully expressed in the New Law which is the

law of grace, the law that identifies us with Christ himself. It is

what brings about the supernatural life in us. It enables us to live

the beatitudes and to be another Christ, ‘alter Christus,’ much like

what St. Paul said: “It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in

me.” (Gal 2,20)

            Given our human condition that is prone to mistakes, falls

and sin, we can still obey God’s will as long as we also take the

necessary means provided by Christ and now made available in the

Church. These are mainly the sacraments.

            Humanly speaking, we should just have that sporting

attitude of having to begin and begin again, seeing to it that we get

up every time we fall. That way, we will continue on our way to

fulfilling God’s ultimate will for us, that is, that we fully become

his image and likeness, vitally sharing in his life and nature.

            That’s the definitive state of our life, our true ultimate home!

From death to a new eternal life

WE should never be afraid of death. Though it obviously is

not something good, since ultimately it is a consequence of sin, death

somehow has become a gateway to our new, eternal life with God, a life

of bliss and complete identification with God who wants us to be his

image and likeness, children of his, sharers of his nature and life.

            This is made possible because death has been redeemed by

Christ with his own death and resurrection. Its sting has been

removed. Its victory and dominion over us has been crushed. It has

been converted as the final means for us to gain the definitive life

meant for us. In short, with Christ and with him only, we can transit

from death to our new life.

            We should not worry if as we approach the end of our

earthly life, there will still be many things to be done, problems to

be solved, challenges to be tackled. We are not expected to do and

solve all of them. We will always die with some unfinished businesses

still hanging.

            But Christ will take care of all that. What is impossible

with us is always possible with him. He has shown this by accepting

all the sins of man with his passion and death on the cross, and

conquering sin and death itself with his resurrection.

            We can say that Christ was not able to solve all the human

problems that we have. What he did in the end was simply to assume all

these problems, including our sins, by offering his life on the cross

as payment or ransom, then he conquered sin and death with his

resurrection.

            In other words, our redemption or the completion of our

creation as image and likeness of God is first of all a fruit of

divine power and not of our own effort, though we are expected to do

what we can to cooperate.

            We know that our cooperation can only go so far. But at

least, as long as our cooperation is done with faith, trust and love

for God, then God’s divine power can work wonders in us. He can

transform us into his image and likeness.

            This truth is somehow affirmed when St. Paul said in his

first letter to the Corinthians: “When all things are under his

(Christ’s) authority, the Son (Christ) will put himself under God’s

authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things,

will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.” (15,28)

            Another translation of that passage expresses it more

vividly: “…the Son himself will be made subject to him who put all

things under him, so that God may be all in all.”

            So what we have to understand is that while we do what we

can and we do them as best as we can, we should not worry so much if

our best efforts cannot solve all our problems due to our sins. It can

only prove that the damage due to our sin, which is an offense not

only against ourselves but first of all is against God, is beyond our

nature to repair. It can only be repaired by God himself with our

cooperation.

            That is why we can consider ourselves as our own

co-redeemer, with Christ understood as the sole redeemer. Our role as

co-redeemer does not compromise in any way the truth that Christ is

the sole redeemer of mankind. But Christ somehow involves us in the

work of redemption precisely because we are supposed to be like him

who is the pattern of our humanity.

            We have to see to it that whatever situation we may be in,

especially when we have problems, we should identify ourselves with

Christ, because it is only through him that everything is resolved.

Even our death, our biggest unsolvable problem, will be solved!

Relevance of Christ’s passion today

ESPECIALLY during these days of Holy Week, it would be

very good if we can pause and meditate more deeply on the passion and

death of Christ. To be sure, it will be an exercise that will be most

profitable to us. In fact, it is indispensable.

            Why? Simply because the passion and death of Christ

contains the ultimate reason and the way we can properly handle our

current human condition, hounded as it is by weaknesses and

temptations and wounded by sin, and convert that condition into our

means of salvation.

            The big problem we have to overcome with regard to this

matter is the ignorance, indifference, if not the total unbelief, many

of us have toward the importance, indispensability and relevance of

Christ’s passion in our life.

            It is in Christ’s passion that we are shown how our

attitude and reaction should be when we are made inevitably to suffer

in any form. Christ shows us how to suffer and eventually die, and

turn these negative things into the gateway to our salvation, to our

definitive eternal life with God, from whom we came and to whom we

belong.

            Let’s remember that we are meant to share the very life of

God, since he wants us to be his image and likeness, children of his.

We need to level up in our understanding of our human dignity and

extricate ourselves from the grip of merely worldly goals, no matter

how exciting and profitable they are. We are not meant for merely

earthly life. We are simply journeying here toward our definitive

home, heaven.

            It would be good if we can do certain exercises so that

the spirit behind Christ’s passion and death on the cross can inspire

us and become also our own. Perhaps, we can do the Via Crucis, spend

time before the image of crucified Christ or the ‘Santo Entierro,’

view films and dramatizations of Christ’s passion and death, etc.

            We need to understand that accepting all the sufferings in

this life the way Christ accepted all the indignities, mockeries and

insults and finally death on the cross, is the way to our salvation,

not only ours personally, but of all mankind collectively.

            It is when we have this spirit when we can truly say that

we are effectively identifying ourselves with Christ who is not only

the pattern of our humanity but also the savior of our damaged

humanity. We are supposed to be ‘alter Christus,’ another Christ.

            Our meditations of the passion and death of Christ should

result one way or another in our willingness to suffer. Can we say,

for example, that we are now more ready to accept all kinds of

humiliations and bodily suffering, instead of complaining and wanting

to make revenge?

            We should come out with some concrete steps and strategies

to develop the same attitude and reaction Christ had when he went

through his passion and death. Can we say that we are getting more

magnanimous, approaching the supreme magnanimity of Christ? Or are we

still wallowing in some form of victim complex when we suffer?

            To be sure, this willingness to suffer is never a form of

foolishness, though in the eyes of the world it may look that way. It

is rather a way of making ourselves more and more like Christ,

assuming his redemptive mentality and purpose in life.

            We need to reassure ourselves regarding this point. To

suffer with Christ is the way to our true joy, to our salvation and

total fulfilment as man and a child of God. We need to fight the many

forms of worldly but false ideals of what true human happiness and

perfection is. Sad to say, there are many of them and they have

charmed and seduced so many people.

            We need to do something about this. And one way is to

start by meditating on the passion and death of Christ these days.